British Army

The British Army is the land armed forces of the United Kingdom.

In contrast to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force the British Army does
not include royal in its title, because of its roots as a collection of
disparate units.

History

The Founding of the Army

The British Army did not exist as a separate entity before the Act of Union
of 1707 which united English and Scotland, but its origins date back to the
aftermath of the English Civil War. Before the Civil War, the army was
raised as required by the King, who would warrant gentlemen to raise
companies, this being a direct throwback to the feudal concept of fief where
a lord had to raise a certain quota of knights, men at arms and yeomanry.
The only difference up to this point in time being that raising companies
without a warrant could be considered treasonable (whereas feudal lords
could raise their fief to fight each other).

After the Civil War, parliament assumed control of the Army, and standing
companies based on Cromwells New Model Army formed the concept of the first
regiments. Cromwell's companies did not yet assume the unique names that
came later to be associated with British Army Regiments, instead they would
name their companies after psalms or biblical phrases, or were often
identified with the gentleman who had raised the company, eg Monck's
Regiment of Foot. This particular unit is notable because after the end of
the Civil War it was barracked in London, and was involved in defending
parliment when it voted for the restoration, this unit is now known as the
Coldstream Guards.

With the Restoration of Charles II the concept of standing regiments found
favour with the King. As well as retaining some existing loyal standing
units, he raised his own, one of the first being the First or Grenadier
Regiment of Foot Guards, nowadays shortened to Grenadier Guards. On Jan 26th
1661 Charles II issued the warrant that officially founded the British Army.

The oldest surviving regiment in the British Army is the Honourable
Artillery Company (given a royal charter in 1537), now a Territorial Army
unit. It is not considered the most senior, however, because it fought on
the side of Parliament in the Civil War and so didn't have unbroken service
to the crown. This honour instead goes to the Royal Monmouthshire Royal
Engineers, which was founded in 1539. The oldest surviving regular unit is
the Royal Scots, founded in 1633.

The Army in the 18th and 19th centuries

The Army and the First World War

The Army and the Second World War

For the foundation and exploits of the Commandos, see British Commandos. See
Also British military history of World War II

Modern British Army

In the aftermath of WWII, the Army concentrated most of its combat firepower
in Germany. For the first time in its history, it maintained the bulk of its
forces in continental Europe in peacetime, after they ceased being an army
of occupation. The British Army of the Rhine was formed to control British
formations in West Germany. It varied in size during its lifetime, but for a
good proportion of the time, it consisted of four divisions, with about
55,000 men in total. Another unusual feature of the formation was that it
had a British corps headquarters permenantly established in peacetime as a
manoeuvre formation. This was I Corps. Usually in peacetime there are not
enough British formations in one place to merit this level of headquarters
being established.

The BAOR lasted until 1993, when it was disbanded as part of the Options for
Change defence cuts. The Army has not completely pulled out of Germany. 1st
Armoured Division is still based in the country.

Since 1962, when the last period of conscription (National Service) ended,
the army has been a wholly professional force of volunteers. About one
quarter of the Army is provided by the part-time members of the Territorial Army.

The standard issue individual weapon is the SA80, with the variant LSW
providing extra firepower.

Famous members of the British Army

   * Henry Shrapnel - Inventor of shrapnel
   * B.H. Liddell Hart - WWI officer and military strategist
   * Claude Auchinleck - WWII General
   * Field Marshall Montgomery - WWII Allied commander

Notable units of the British Army, past and present

   * 7th Armoured Division
   * 11th Hussars
   * 4th Indian Division
   * Honourable Artillery Company
   * Kings Royal Rifle Corps (formerly The Duke of York's Own Rifle Corps
     and the 60th Royal American Regiment)
   * Long Range Desert Group
   * Royal Welch Fusiliers
   * Special Air Service

Land units of the British Armed Forces which are not part of the British
Army include;

   * Royal Marines
   * Special Boat Service
   * RAF Regiment

Captains-General of the British Army, 1660-1809

   * George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle 1660-1670
   * office vacant 1670-1678
   * James Scott, Duke of Monmouth 1678-1679
   * office vacant 1679-1702
   * John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough 1702-1711
   * James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormond 1711-1714
   * John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough 1714-1717
   * office vacant 1717-1744
   * Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland 1744-1757
   * office vacant 1757-1799
   * Prince Frederick, Duke of York 1799-1809

Commanders-in-Chief of the Forces, 1672-1904

   * James Scott, Duke of Monmouth 1674-1679
   * office vacant 1679-1690
   * John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough 1690-1691
   * Meinhard Schomberg, Duke of Leinster 1691-1711
   * James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormond 1711-1714
   * office vacant 1714-1744
   * John, Earl of Stair 1744
   * George Wade 1745-1748
   * office vacant 1748-1757
   * John Ligonier, Earl Ligonier 1757-1759
   * office vacant 1759-1766
   * John Manners, Marquess of Granby 1766-1769
   * office vacant 1769-1778
   * Jeffrey Amherst, Lord Amherst 1778-1782
   * Hon. Henry Seymour Conway 1782-1793
   * Jeffrey Amherst, Lord Amherst 1793-1795
   * Prince Frederick, Duke of York 1795-1809
   * Sir David Dundas 1809-1811
   * The Duke of York 1811-1827
   * Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington 1827-1828
   * Rowland Hill, Viscount Hill 1828-1842
   * The Duke of Wellington 1842-1852
   * Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge 1852-1856
   * Prince George, 2nd Duke of Cambridge 1856-1895
   * Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley 1895-1900
   * Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts 1900-1904

Chiefs of the General Staff, 1904-1908

   * Sir Neville Lyttleton 1904-1908

Chiefs of the Imperial General Staff, 1908-1964

   * Sir William Nicholson 1908-1912
   * Sir John French 1912-1914
   * Sir Charles Douglas 1914
   * Sir James Murray 1914-1915
   * Sir Archibald Murray 1915
   * Sir William Robertson 1915-1918
   * Sir Henry Wilson 1918-1922
   * Frederick Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan 1922-1926
   * Sir George Milne 1926-1933
   * Sir Archibald Montgomery-Massingberg 1933-1936
   * Sir Cyril Deverell 1936-1937
   * John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort 1937-1939
   * Sir Edmund Ironside 1939-1940
   * Sir John Dill 1940-1941
   * Sir Alan Brooke 1941-1946
   * Sir Bernard Montgomery 1946-1948
   * Sir William Slim 1948-1952
   * Sir John Harding 1952-1955
   * Sir Gerald Templer 1955-1958
   * Sir Francis Festing 1958-1961
   * Sir Richard Hull 1961-1964

Chiefs of the General Staff, 1964-present

   * Sir Richard Hull 1964-1965
   * Sir James Cassels 1965-1968
   * Sir Geoffrey Baker 1968-1971
   * Sir Michael Carver, 1971-1973
   * Sir Peter Hunt 1973-1976
   * Sir Roland Gibbs 1976-1979
   * Sir Edwin Bramall 1979-1982
   * Sir John Stamier 1982-1985
   * Sir Nigel Bagnall 1985-1989
   * Sir John Chapple 1989-1992
   * Sir Peter Inge 1992-1994
   * Sir Charles Guthrie 1994-1997
   * Sir Roger Wheeler 1997-2000
   * Sir Michael Walker 2000-2003
   * Sir Mike Jackson 2003-present

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